http://www.oneworld.net/article/archive/23 en_US http://us.oneworld.net/link/gotolink/addhit/83731 "The conference agreement on the 2008 [U.S.] Farm Bill makes numerous improvements in domestic food assistance programs to help low-income Americans put food on the table in the face of rising food and fuel prices," says policy analyst Dottie Rosenbaum. From: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160571/1/23 Lacking support from the government, a group of tribal women from a remote district in Orissa in eastern India, devised a unique way to get rid of water scarcity. By using bamboo pipes to carry stream water to the villages, these women have benefited hundreds of people. http://us.oneworld.net/link/gotolink/addhit/83726 Four prominent American social justice groups are launching a campaign to halve poverty in the United States in 10 years. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/160554/1/23 Walter Fust, former Director-General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) envisions a knowledge safety net where human values go beyond the statistics of the Gross National Product (GNP). He acknowledges telecentre.org’s work in enabling people to benefit from the transformative power of technology. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160543/1/23 Lack of jobs and unpaid debts have led to a spate of suicides among traditional goldsmiths in southern India. The mechanised jewellery making industry has ruined practitioners of this traditional craft, leading to hundreds of thousands living in penury. http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/160530/1/23 Across Bangladesh, poor rural women are building up their country's fragile democracy by methodically and discreetly eliminating the small inequities of their daily lives. From: Ms. Magazine http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/160529/1/23 More than 350,000 children living in poor countries could be saved each year using the money lost as corporations engage in illegal trade-related tax evasion, says a new report from an anti-poverty coalition. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/160525/1/23 Commonwealth of Learning is organising the fifth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF5) from July 13-17, 2008 in London. The Forum will explore how open and distance learning can help achieve education for all through widening educational access and bridging the digital divide. http://www.oneworld.net/article/view/160511/1/23 FALLUJAH, May 12 (IPS) - Sharp increases in food prices have generated a new wave of anti-occupation and anti-U.S. sentiment in Fallujah. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160497/1/23 Displaced by devastating floods more than two decades ago, residents of Bihar in eastern India have been forced to live on a century-old British constructed levee. Living in abject poverty and in fear of criminals, these landless farm workers have not seen any government official in the last 25 years. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160477/1/23 Diverting agricultural land to produce biofuels, increased dependence on imports, hoarding by traders, ban on export of food grains by neighbours are reasons cited for rising food prices in Nepal. Experts feel the government needs to take long-term measures if it wants to save people dying of hunger. http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/160453/1/23 WASHINGTON, May 8 (OneWorld) - More than 800 development and human rights activists are gathering here this week, developing and calling on Congress to implement new strategies to tackle world poverty and hunger. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160455/1/23 Afghanistan government with UN help will soon carry out a study to assess the nutritional needs of people affected by rising food prices for future interventions. The country has large numbers of stunted, underweight and wasted children, and women in reproductive age suffering from malnourishment. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160440/1/23 UN Security Council needs to discuss the current global food crisis and take corrective measures before the situation goes out of hand. Experts feel that the UN body must recognise that war and civil strife cannot be prevented without addressing social and economic conditions. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160397/1/23 India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has increased the bargaining power of the poor, felt participants at a recent consultation by Indian anti-poverty network WNTA in the capital. They also called for increased investment by the government for effective monitoring of the scheme.